Now that the seasonal clean-up is underway, I am struck once again by the physicality of many garden chores. I am thinking of jobs like trimming the vigorous rose that clambers up our eight-foot tall arch, or pulling down the rampant ivy that threatens the mortar of our high stone foundation. Then of course there is the multi-hour process of trimming the many roses of Sharon, so they don’t become leggy next year. The flowering quince, which looks like a green woolly mammoth, awaits a haircut as well. It takes a fair amount of muscle to pull down branches, clip them and bundle them for bulk pick-up. Vigorous raking and leap disposal are now daily chores and will be until all the trees are devoid of leaves..
My garden is medium-sized, but the number of landscape elements is large. Occasionally, when the jobs get ahead of me, I spend a few minutes pining for a formal layout full of slow-growing evergreens. Then I come to my sense and remember how much I love flowers and abundant greenery. It just takes abundant work to tend them.